Ticket 2 Ride

Ex-Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett hadn’t played a concert in my area since he was a member of the band back in the 1970s. News of his North American tour leg had me really excited when it was announced last year. As soon as tickets were on sale, I was on it.

Hackett left Genesis in 1977, two years after lead vocalist Peter Gabriel, and while the band was still deep into their prog-rock era. Genesis had two outstanding guitar players (Antony Phillips and then Hackett), but would always be a predominantly keyboard band. Hackett grew frustrated with his role in Genesis. After his departure, Hackett would release his second solo album Please Don’t Touch! (1978), my favorite of his albums.

Hackett tours with Roger King (keyboards), Rob Townsend (saxophone, flute, keyboards, percussion bass pedals, backing vocals), Nad Sylvan (vocals), Craig Blundell (drums) & Jonas Reingold (bass, guitar, backing vocals). These guys are good, and versatile musicians. To play this kind of music, as complex and well-known as it is, requires discipline and talent.

Peter Gabriel does not play Genesis songs, Genesis would play a few early Genesis songs, neither Tony Banks or Mike Rutherford reached back into the Genesis vault when they toured their bands. Steve Hackett has been playing Genesis and recording his versions of Genesis songs for decades. Lately, he has been playing major chunks of early Genesis on his tours and releasing live albums/Blu-rays of this concerts. For a guy who exited the band in the late 1970s, he sure does have a love and respect for the music that made the band famous, even capturing the Gabriel vocals, the Banks keyboard extravaganza, Phil Collins bombast percussion and Rutherford’s fluid bass lines.

Prog-rock is not everyone’s cup of tea. Prog-rock can be dense and free-form, inventive like jazz, but prog-rock knows where it is going and while it challenges (in a good way) the listener. My partner was not familiar with Hackett, or much of Genesis, but she was a trooper and sat through what must have sounded like an endless music storm. It’s doubtful that Steve Hackett will come this way again so I knew this was a concert I had to see. While I was not familiar initially with some the songs, I did watch my concert videos and listen to his live CDs later. The musicianship of his band is amazing, his musicians are obviously talented, but mesh incredibly well.

Steve Hackett presents a dazzling and energetic show. The venue was not sold-out, which is a shame, but understandable, given his lower profile. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and even purchased an autographed copy of his book.

Setlist 2024

“People of the Smoke” – The first single from his most recent album, The Circus And The Nightwhale. I have to admit, I was unfamiliar with this song. Industrial sounding with some Beach Boys-esque harmony vocals.

“Circo Inferno” – Another song from The Circus And The Nightwhale. A dazzling and intense song, short, but incredible guitar work. The song is haunting.

https://youtu.be/ej8mygu4VI0?si=qNoDjY0UQwxgY2Xy

“These Passing Clouds” – The third song from The Circus And The Nightwhale. A sensitive interplay between Hackett’s guitar and Townshend’s woodwind.

“The Devil’s Cathedral” – From the album, Surrender of Silence. Keyboardist Roger King is magnificent on this track, but so are the rest of the band. This song is very Yes-like in its complexity and sterling musicianship.

“Every Day” – A lovely song from Spectral Mornings (1979), one of my favorites.

https://youtu.be/7QrC1eI-IrA?si=so4EvGzxc8Gx599q

“A Tower Struck Down” – From his first album, Shadow of the Hierophant (1975). Hackett really uses his guitar as a soundboard, getting remarkable sounds and textures from the instrument. The song is a lovely cacophony of sounds.

“Basic Instincts” – This is bassist Reingold stepping out on bass for this short bass solo. Reingold is an exquisite bass player, a melodic player like Chris Squire was in Yes.

“Camino Royale” – From Highly Strung (1983). One of my favorites, direct and high energy, this song really soars.

https://youtu.be/FLB39IKRUYo?si=Wc2vvI-slSUDFZva

“Shadow of the Hierophant” – From the album of the same name. Magnificent! A song Genesis should have recorded, but didn’t, and that’s a shame, but Hackett’s presentation is like a symphony.

Intermission

“Watcher of the Skies” – (Genesis song) I always like this song, the power keyboard chords in the opening section. A very powerful song, Roger King did a masterful job recreating it. The opening track from Foxtrot.

https://youtu.be/bg686eRiwNc?si=cToZpj23PNNV5pwp

Time Table – (Genesis song) From Foxtrot. Nad Sylvan is not a Peter Gabriel clone, nor does he try to be. He has an effective range and puts his considerable energy into the songs, not theatrics. This is one of the best songs on Foxtrot.

Get ’em Out by Friday – (Genesis song) From Foxtrot. Very proggy song, but it rocks. A quality performance of the song.

Can-Utility and the Coastliners – (Genesis song) From Foxtrot. This a very Tony Banks performance, but King does a fabulous job of tackling Banks’ multiple keyboard parts. A better song than I remember from Foxtrot.

“Horizons” – (Genesis song) From Foxtrot. A Hackett-written song and a lovely instrumental.

https://youtu.be/3AWMdgGkGYc?si=c12h1xBYRvA0JnDo

“Supper’s Ready” – (Genesis song) Perhaps the best-known song on Foxtrot; seven sections over 23 minutes. A very enjoyable live version.

Encore

“Firth of Fifth” – (Genesis song) Maybe the best Genesis song ever. From Selling England By the Pound. Two song pieces welded together, the expansive instrumental section with the enchanted guitar solo, was written by Hackett, the song is a showstopper.

https://youtu.be/dJLtT5RmM5E?si=CICNUmjsfqZzDwO_

“Drum Solo” – When’s the last time you heard one at a concert? Honestly, it’s challenging to make one interesting and not just excessive.

“Los Endos” – (Genesis song) From A Trick of the Tail, a great song, nearly an instrumental, and terrific way to end the concert. This is a great version!